The Shaw Festival, North America's premiere repertory theatre company, brings you an inside look at the craft of theatre through candid conversations with Canada’s top theatre artists. From acting and directing to design and music, we take you behind the scenes of world-class productions, giving theatre lovers an intimate and deeper understanding of the creativity that brings stories to life.
Every theatre has its story. Few have lived as many lives as the Royal George. In this special documentary episode, we celebrate the life of a building that became the beating heart of the Shaw Festival. From its beginnings as a vaudeville house in 1915 to its transformation into one of Canada’s most beloved theatres, the George has witnessed a lifetime of stories. As it prepares for its next chapter, we celebrate not just the building, but the people who made it come alive. Written ...
13 Nov 2025
Irving Berlin's White Christmas: Kate Hennig & Allison Plamondon in Conversation
How do you keep a holiday classic feeling brand new? Director Kate Hennig and choreographer Allison Plamondon join us to talk about reimagining Irving Berlin's White Christmas for today’s audiences, while honouring the timeless music, movement, and nostalgia that define it. They share what collaboration looks like behind the scenes, how storytelling through dance brings emotional truth to familiar songs, and what it means to return to a production with a deeper sense of joy and purpose. Ka...
6 Nov 2025
A Christmas Carol: Michael Therriault & Graeme Somerville in Conversation
How do you bring yourself to an iconic role? In this episode, actors Michael Therriault and Graeme Somerville reflect on A Christmas Carol, one of the Shaw Festival’s most beloved traditions. They talk about what it means to step into Scrooge’s shoes, the rhythms of a show that blends puppetry, song, and transformation, and the balance between ritual and reinvention. Along the way, they share backstage stories, onstage discoveries, and why this classic tale still stirs something new every ye...
14 Aug 2025
Murder-on-the-Lake: Rebecca Northan & Kristopher Bowman in Conversation
What happens when the star of the show is someone who’s never rehearsed a line? In this episode, director-performer Rebecca Northan and actor Kristopher Bowman take us inside Murder-on-the-Lake, a one-of-a-kind theatrical experiment at the Shaw Festival. Each performance of this improvised murder mystery features a different audience member in a central role, supported by a cast of quick-thinking actors who shape the story in real time. Rebecca shares how her background in improv helped shap...
7 Aug 2025
Blues for an Alabama Sky: Kimberley Rampersad & Virgilia Griffith in Conversation
What does it mean to rehearse with care, rigour, and trust? Director Kimberley Rampersad and actor Virgilia Griffith join us for a deep and moving conversation about Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Shaw Festival, from its political weight to its lyrical beauty. They talk about how Pearl Cleage’s 1995 play resonates today, how costumes and choreography influence character, and how actors and directors find each other through shared values and ambition. It's a conversation about legacy, joy, a...
31 Jul 2025
Ella & Louis: Alana Bridgewater & Jeremiah Sparks in Conversation
How do you honour two of the greatest voices in jazz history? Ella & Louis creators and performers Alana Bridgewater and Jeremiah Sparks join us to talk about the personal stories, musical research, and collaborative energy behind their new show at the Shaw Festival. From scatting origins to Oscar Peterson’s early recordings, this episode covers the legacy of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, and what it means to bring their joy, humour, and political weight into a contemporary perfor...
24 Jul 2025
May I Have The Pleasure?: Sharry Flett & Taran Kim in Conversation
What does a career in the theatre look like across generations? In this episode, we bring together Shaw Festival veteran Sharry Flett and rising star Taran Kim to talk about their work on May I Have the Pleasure?, a new dance-theatre piece that plays with memory, music, and the social rituals that shape us. From first gigs and unexpected inspirations to the rehearsal dynamics that build real trust, this episode explores how performance evolves over a lifetime. With candid reflections, surpri...
17 Jul 2025
Gnit: Will Eno & Tim Carroll in Conversation
What does it mean to pursue the self, and what does it cost? In this episode, playwright Will Eno and director Tim Carroll talk about Gnit, Eno’s wild and thoughtful reimagining of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, now on stage at the Shaw Festival. From existential longing to awkward small talk, they explore what makes this modern fable so strangely human, and why Gnit’s detours and dead ends speak to something universal. They also reflect on their creative collaboration, the role of failure in art, and t...
10 Jul 2025
Wait Until Dark: Sochi Fried & Bruce Horak in Conversation
What does real suspense feel like on stage? In this episode, actors Sochi Fried and Bruce Horak dive into their roles in Wait Until Dark at the Shaw Festival, a play full of menace, vulnerability, and razor-sharp tension. They talk about trust, sensory awareness, and the risks of staging a thriller in a real space, in real time. From soundscapes and silence to darkness and danger, they figure out what it takes to make audiences hold their breath. Sochi Fried is an actor whose stage work inc...
3 Jul 2025
The Roll of Shaw: Travis Seetoo & Cosette Derome in Conversation
Travis Seetoo and Cosette Derome discuss their live show, The Roll of Shaw: Through the Wardrobe, which blends tabletop role-playing games with the works of George Bernard Shaw and C.S. Lewis in this interview.
26 Jun 2025
La Vie en Rose: Jay Turvey & Matt Alfano in Conversation
Jay Turvey and Matt Alfano discuss their immersive theatrical experience, La Vie en Rose, at the Shaw Festival, which reimagines a night in Paris through movement, music, and memory in this interview.
19 Jun 2025
Major Barbara: Peter Hinton-Davis & Gillian Gallow in Conversation
Director Peter Hinton-Davis and designer Gillian Gallow discuss their creative process for staging Major Barbara, emphasizing research and design to make Shaw's satire relevant, in this interview.
12 Jun 2025
Dear Liar: Marla McLean & Graeme Somerville in Conversation
Actors Marla McLean and Graeme Somerville discuss co-creating and starring in "Dear Liar," exploring the complexities of George Bernard Shaw's correspondence in this interview.
5 Jun 2025
Tons of Money: Mike Nadajewski & Julia Course in Conversation
Actors Mike Nadajewski and Julia Course discuss their experiences performing in "Tons of Money," highlighting comedic timing and the importance of trust between scene partners in this interview.
29 May 2025
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Selma Dimitrijevic & Judith Bowden in Conversation
Director Selma Dimitrijevic and designer Judith Bowden explore their collaborative process creating "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," highlighting the importance of trust and vulnerability in building a world from scratch in this interview.
22 May 2025
Anything Goes: Kimberley Rampersad & Paul Sportelli in Conversation
What happens when you revisit a 1930s musical with a 21st-century sensibility? In our series premiere, associate artistic director Kimberley Rampersad and music director Paul Sportelli talk about the artistic choices, personal histories, and deep trust that shape Anything Goes at the Shaw Festival. From a game-changing audition to a day that actors say is better than Christmas, this conversation covers decades of theatre-making, and what it means to collaborate with care. Kimberley Rampersad ...
30 Apr 2025
Introducing: Let's Get This Shaw on the Road
Let’s Get This Shaw on the Road — a brand-new podcast from North America’s premiere repertory theatre company. Join Alexis Milligan and Kelly Wong as they take you behind the scenes of the Shaw Festival’s latest season through candid, insightful conversations with some of Canada’s top theatre artists. New episodes every Thursday, starting May 22. Hosted by Alexis Milligan Produced by Kelly Wong Original Music by Travis Seetoo Tickets to all of our shows available now at https://shawfest.com
Who has been a guest on Let's Get This Shaw on the Road
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Travis Seetoo
Cosette Derome
Jay Turvey
Matt Alfano
Peter Hinton-Davis
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
442,010
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
16 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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